Lahm thrilled with 'winter champions' tag

Bayern Munich star Philipp Lahm says becoming 'winter champions' will give the squad an important confidence boost for the rest of the season.

The Bavarians defeated Freiburg 2-0 on Wednesday and are now 11 points clear of defending Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund and 10 ahead of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.

The result ensured that Bayern will spend the winter break as Herbstmeister as they prepare for their assault on three fronts.

"Spending the winter break on top is actually very, very important," the 29-year-old told the club's official website.

"We still have a couple of games and targets before the mid-season break: we want to extend our advantage in the Bundesliga, finish top of our Champions League group, and make the next round of the cup."

Lahm was part of the defence that kept their 10th clean sheet from 14 Bundesliga matches, and coach Jupp Heynckes was quick to heap praise on the Bavarian club's backline.

"As it was, Manuel Neuer had to make a magnificent save with the score still 1-0. For all that, we did well for long spells, and apart from a couple of chances at the end, we didn't concede much defensively," he said.